As I write this I can see and hear Storm Ciaran taking hold outside. It is going to whip through really quickly overnight and by dawn will be a north westerly but there's got to be chance of sea birds lingering in the bay for daybreak. I'll be trying that is for sure - I've not seen a Leach's Petrel on patch for over ten years!
The reason I wanted to blog was because I had a lovely morning of vis migging on Monday morning. The skies were mostly blue, very little wind and from before dawn Wood Pigeons were moving west along the coast - with more flying south down the valley to join the westward route. Plenty of Stock Doves mixed in too, as well as several flocks of Jackdaws and Starlings. 10,700 Wood Pigeons was my final count for the morning.
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| Wood Pigeons looking cool! |
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| A distant flock passing Seaton Clock Tower |
The downside of vis migging in Seaton is that it doesn't have the elevation. I would usually head to Axe Cliff to vis mig at this time of year in these weather conditions, but I wanted to stay within my Patchwork Challenge patch hoping to add some species to the list. However any passerine hopes were quickly dashed with all the small dots too high to hear, flying west. Out of the small percentage that were low enough to ID, three were Bullfinch which was a nice sight flying west together. But no hoped for Brambling, Woodlark, Crossbill, et al.
The day improved even more during my lunch break, as I stumbled upon my first Black Redstart of the autumn - a stunning (presumed) adult male!
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| Took this with just my phone camera! No optical assistance at all. |
Wish me luck for the morning...
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